The Ram Project in Bloomington, MN

Re-recording classic rock albums has been an indie staple stretching back to the '80s, when
Pussy Galore
did their own cassette-only spin on
Exile on Main St.
and
Sonic Youth
were long rumored to cover
the White Album
in its entirety, but Portland indie musician
Dave Depper
's 2011
The Ram Project
has more in common with
Karl Wallinger
's alleged practice of re-recording the
Beatles
catalog: it's a re-creation, not an interpretation. To jolt himself out of a creative malaise, he set out to replicate
Paul McCartney
's legendary shaggy homemade record
Ram
on his own, enlisting
Joan Hiller
for
Linda McCartney
harmonies.
McCartney
may have done
largely on his own in 1971 and
Depper
certainly has access to more at-home studio trickery in 2011 but what's remarkable is that
often feels as warm and ramshackle itself,
showing considerable skill at aural painting, using precisely the right amount of reverb, adeptly overdubbing to provide space and color. As a sheer sonic achievement, it's quite impressive and even if it doesn't replace
-- something it was never intended to do -- it does function as a fascinating footnote to the proper album, illustrating the invention that lies behind its recording, while also operating as an impressive document of what
can do in the studio. Plus, it's just a hell of a lot of fun. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine